No shrinkage of sleeves

A healthy double digit growth rate is still predicted for sleeves as they continue to make inroads into the label market.

AWA’s AWAreness report on the Global Shrink Sleeve Label Market and Technology Review 2005 says that the world market for heat shrink labels in 2004 was 1,478Mm². At only five per cent of total label demand it indicates just how much potential there is. Growth rates are higher in Eastern Europe and China with 54 per cent of the market being in Asia and 19 per cent each in North America and Europe, reports AWA.

The difference in film usage around the world is clearly affected by attitudes to PVC and the degree of sophistication of container shape, quality of sleeves and shrinkage method. In North America, 70 per cent is PVC, in South America it accounts for 95 per cent whereas in Japan, only 5 per cent is PVC and in Europe it is 50 per cent. PET accounts for 35 per cent of global film usage, being the material of choice in Japan (55 per cent) and up to 40 per cent in Europe. OPS/SPS lies at around 15 per cent, reveals AWA. And the first trials of PLA film indicate price levels equal to or less than oil based polymers

Other films are being developed by the major sleeve converters themselves as they seek to ensure their markets in a field that is seen as an opportunity by smaller players seeking to expand a label or flexible packaging converting operation.

“With the advances in materials and shrink tunnels projects feasible today would not have been thought of five years ago,” explains manager senior sales and marketing at sleeve major Fuji Seal Europe Sia Memarnia. “For example, this has allowed sleeves not to be just container decoration, but they are also now an alternative to coated glass bottles.”

This is illustrated by the change of Diageo spirit drink brand Archers Schnapps packaging for four of its sizes from the traditional acid etch bottle with labels to a PET shrink sleeve gravure printed in eight colours.

“When you hold the container in your hand you really don’t know that this is a sleeve – it has all the feel of a coated bottle,” says Sia Memarnia. The first challenge, he reports, was to print a lacquer to replicate the acid etch effect on the surface of the sleeve which was robust enough to withstand the whole process from sleeve application to filling line to transportation. “Many lacquers can give the effect, but not the robustness needed and after extensive trials both at the shrink stage and after filling, a lacquer was developed specially for this product which satisfied both requirements.

“The next challenge was to be able to print a reflective silver and match the current labels, which was achieved.” Fifty micron film was chosen for its shrink capabilities and scuff resistance.

He adds: “There is a quiet revolution going on in Eastern Europe and China. It seems they are making a technology jump straight into sleeves.” Eric Fresnel, managing director of another leading sleeve converter, Sleever International, says: “The big growth is going to be in dairy products. We are seeing an upgrading from milk to drinking yoghurts to probiotic drinks.” He adds: “At first the majors were playing with it, but now local players are looking too. It is happening from the tip of Spain in the south to Russia in the north and they are opting for the shrink sleeve.” (See Greek market, in Hatzopoulos feature, this issue).

He is also enthusiastic about the growth of top of the range waters, which can be similarly priced to wine! “These are high quality waters, and the brands also want to be nice to the environment. For this ‘high value recycling market’ we have developed a thermoplastic elastomer that has a lower density than the 1.7 –1.3 density of PET.” It is the same thickness as a polyester sleeve, but with a density of 1, TPE-G, developed by Sleever International’s Films Division originally in conjunction with Coca-Cola Belgium, has been approved by Amcor’s recycling plant and under recycling legislation in Norway, Sweden, France and Germany.

“Another new film is OPS TH50, which allows OPS to steam shrink like polyester yet is price competitive.” That is important in the dairy, where steam is available in quantity and steam shrinking makes sense, he explains, but where the upward movement of PET prices has not been good news.

Tactile surfaces are also becoming important. For example, sleeves for US importer Click Wine Group’s new range of Italian wines produced by a Decorative Sleeves feature a realistic leather effect. High shrink 50 micron PET was selected to provide a consistent shrink finish, and gravure printing of specialist delicate inks produces the leather encased look and a three dimensional effect for the zip and label. Print specification also provides a tactile effect and accurate pre-distortion is designed to ensure that the zip remains vertical.

In response to the new EU directive requiring all pharmaceutical packaging to carry tactile Braille information, Sleever has developed shrink sleeves capable of carrying the raised characters.

“The magic word is indeed innovation," says Barry Ferne, business development manager, SunChemical (UK Packaging), which claims to have a dominant position in ink supply to sleeve converters in Europe, where print quality relies on the gravure process. “We are working with converters on innovative effects. That’s in the value added areas such as cosmetics and beverages – effects that shrink sleeving can bring over conventional labelling. Another possibility involves recyclability. You could have one colour bottle and create the different colour containers by the sleeve. So there is work on uv barrier coatings as well as tactile coatings, which are high on the agenda for the big boys in sleeving.”

“The driver for us is the substrate - that dictates the inks. The gravure process can take all the ink types, but flexo has been more limited as it cannot handle aggressive solvents.” However, “UV flexo is becoming more popular – converters can get something that will compete with gravure.” At last year’s Labelexpo Europe Sun launched a cationic flexo ink with a "totally new photo initiator chemistry" that will not produce hazardous by-products on curing and will allow presses to run at more than twice the speeds normally possible with cationic inks, said the company. Solarcat is a new generation of high cure speed inks based on patented technology. Jonathan Sexton, European product manager, says: "There are limitations to existing cationic UV curing inks for applications such as shrink sleeves. Speed is limited to about 100m/min, curing is sensitive to humidity, some give off unpleasant odours and some can produce hazardous by-product.

"Solarcat will run at 250m/min and at humidities above 60 per cent. Absolutely no hazardous benzene is produced. It is virtually odour-free and gives high colour strengths." After five years in development the ink has been trialled at beta sites. Expect to see some results at IPEX.

“There are some general guidelines that can help in the selection of the right printing method,” says Jon Cowan, Decorative Sleeves’ sales director. “Gravure offers high quality photographic reproduction and particularly high lustre metallic effects. The nature of the origination process helps to ensure consistency of reproduction over a long period of time. Gravure will deliver strong brand image and on-shelf impact. Flexo printing is appropriately named as it offers a degree of flexibility that makes it particularly suitable for multi volume, multi variant requirements. UV flexo can deliver high quality reproduction, using UV techniques that allow the inks to cure rapidly, to ensure good colour depth.

“Of course, it is not always a case of choosing one option over another; it is entirely possible that a larger or more complex project will benefit from a varied solution that utilizes multiple materials or printing techniques. The recent relaunch of Arla Foods’ cream range required the simultaneous manufacture of over 90 individual sleeve designs. In order to meet the required standard across a range of product and packaging types we used gravure, CI flexo and UV flexo.”

At Ipex Gidue will show the recently launched i-Combat, its servo driven UV flexo press in eight colour configuration. All print units are equipped with seven servomotors for “total remote control and foolproof operation of all print functions including register, tension control, pressure adjustment and job storage”. The design includes fully automated register control without operator intervention. Features include 482mm wide Intelligent touch screen interface compatible with Microsoft Windows and Ethernet platforms that allow full integration with any MIS system to permit consistent and repeatable job production at either single or multiple plant operations.

Managing director Federico d’Annuzio comments: “ UV flexo printing reduces waste during job set-up as the inks do not evaporate or dry on the press and are virtually ready to run on impression. The ink formulation uses 100 per cent solids so there are no pH or solvent issues. The properties of UV flexo inks include good solid lay-down and sharp dot reproduction providing print quality comparable to gravure or offset at speeds up to 300m/min. Servo driven motors give the same level of registration as CI presses on both front and reverse printing of flexible packaging.”

Edale also reports good business in the shrink sleeve market with its Sigma narrow web flexo press, citing its short run capability.

The company stresses: “It is important that a good UV curing system is employed – one such as the IST BLK2 UV drying unit is an ideal selection. These lamp housings feature stepless power control through the speed range and have the added benefit of water chilled lamp housing. Given the nature of a UV dryer and the by-product of heat generation in the form of IR, it is important to ensure that water chilled rollers are also used on the press.”

Although it has built sleeve forming and seaming machines for nearly 20 years, it is over the last 10 where DCM has seen the market expand dramatically both in volume and geographically. Production capacity of the equipment has been increased and the performance improved in terms of speed, accuracy and productivity it reports. Today DCM offers three models of the Sleeve - single unwind and rewind, duplex unwind with non stop rewind, and fully automatic with non stop unwind and rewind. A machine will be running at 400m/min on the HP Indigo stand at Ipex.